Busy week!

Well, a good week for trains..

First off, I managed to get fascia up on the curve and along in front of the mill.

I need to cut in the profile of the scenery in the boards. That'll happen tomorrow with the help of a friends Rotozip. The last photo shows the cut outs for the booster and the access hatch for the curve when the hill is built. The hatch will be held in place with magnets instead of hinges. I'll update when it's done for those interested. The balance of the fascia will be installed along the front where the yard is and along the scrap yard.

With the fascia installed, scenery can begin. My first project is getting the bridge reinstalled as well as the concrete abutments. I'm also working on a master for the tunnel portals as well. More photos as I get stuff done.

Ops update......

Well, I've got three industries installed in on the layout...

This is the location of the scrap yard. Located just away from the town, it'll keep the eyesore away from the city fathers. It will also provide 1-2 car loads a session.

This is a shot of the yard in town. At some point, it will be a terminal for the local switch job and the branch line job. I'm going to start laying out the track this weekend. There is also a crossover to be installed as well on the main here so the local can switch. On the back side will be a packing house and a feed distributor. The town will also be behind the mainline.

Here is the last shot, showing the OSB mill tracks and the LPG track. The molding mill will have covered loading tracks on the right and woodchip loading on the left. The mill is going to be decent sized, since I don't like small industries! :-)

Another update will be done later this weekend.

Amtrak in town..

Amtrak's 40th special train is in town this weekend...

GEHAMS had their N scale SP layout in the depot as well...

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Layout update..

Well, the main has been in a few weeks and so far, so good. The plywood base has proved to be a good choice, with very little wood movement. I've only had one small gap open up and it was pretty small.

The next steps will be to install a backdrop, but I've been itching to add sidings to the layout as well so I can do some switching. So, this weekend is for working on a couple of spots.

This is the scrap yard on the west end of town. Just on the other side off the mainline will be the connection with the branch.

This view shows the siding for the LPG dealer and the Sierra-Pacific chipboard plant. The plant will handle 6 boxcars for loading and loaded woodchip cars inbound. It will also have a dump for woodchip trucks as well.

Further industries will include a packing house and a feed dealer. There will also be a small 4 track yard for the local switcher to work out of and handle the branch line interchange. But for now, a switch job called out of Roseville will handle switching chores for the time being.

Speaking of which, here's the local in staging next to the Amtrak Vintage excursion. The NS engine is really a DRGW engine that got tagged back east. :-) It will be repainted shortly and placed into service with UP patches.

Thanks for looking!

Railfanning...

At Cajon a few weeks ago..

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Update.. Reefer madness and cork on the mainline!!!

I know, about time I updated. Well, with my work schedule and other things going on, it's been tough to get anything done. It's also the time of the year when I start woodworking again as well. So, without further ado, on with the update...

Picked up two of BLMA's killer reefers. Train Shack in North Hollywood had several when I was in the area, so I couldn't help it. These are nice. They'll get full weathering and graffiti shortly, but I had to run them. Luckly, the GEHAMS club was having a run this weekend.

I also got the cork down on the upper deck. Next is the track and wiring. Then I'll figure out what I want to do with the industries. As it is right now, I'm leaning to maybe 4-7 various industries. After the trip up north, I'm also going to model more of the NorCal-Oregon area.

I should have it running this week, if I'm lucky.

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Okay, layout update....

So here's some shots of the layout. Were starting from the west end to the east end.

This the west end helix. I'm using 2 turns to get the main up to where it needs to be. The reason for the riders being so long is for the climb for the branch line.

This is the bulk of the layout. Stqging is in, but wiring is currently under way. That should be finished by the time you read this. So far, nothing has had a problem.

The east end climb. I planned for trains with 3 engines on the point, or 2 and a rear end helper. Looks like I managed to get that to work without too much heatburn. 3 UP Aces with 26 cars look good too!

Tomrrow, I should start working my way across the upper level and finish the mainline.

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Working..

More work on the layout tonight. However, I do have a cool photo from a trip I made out on the other side of town. This SOO boxcar was sitting in the UP yard with about 50 other boxcars. Must be getting ready for cotton season...

Traveling...

On the road this weekend. The family is in Idaho for 5 days of rest. Some pictures attached...

More next week. Gonna do some railfanning between Sandpoint and Spokane.

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Round and round...

Well, after spending all weekend finishing off the staging yard, I started on the west loop. I'm figuring this will be a 1 turn helix to climb up to the upper level. I'm giving serious thought to installing the upper section first, then linking the helix up to it. I'm still giving thought to the backdrop as well. Right now the thought is 1x2's off the back and either plastic or masonite for the backdrop.

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Staging done!

With a quiet weekend and no obligations, I got to finish my staging yard this afternoon. Now to take a moment and wire it up. Maybe I'll get a train running this week....

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Getting there...

Sub roadbed in.. got some of the cork and track down as well. I'm thinking of a helix on the end to get back to the upper level.

Hopefully, I'll have it up and running by the weekend.

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Last of the benchwork... For now..

Finally got the last of my benchwork up and installed. Moved the paintbooth to its new home, so now I can get down to finishing the line.

Also, I finished installing the east end of the staging yard. Blue Points are being used for switch control and power routing...

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More benchwork...

More west side benchwork went up today. My layout room is 11' 7" wide. This piece fit managed to fit right in. Now to just finish cleaning up where the paint booth is to move and I'm ready to install the last section.

BTW, yes, that's a wig-wag signal. It's from the Pacific Electric crossing of Alameda street in Los Angeles. One of my projects is to get it cleaned up, repainted and rewired so it can be lit.

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East end staging...

Well, the east end ladder is in for staging. Thanks to my buddy Doug for the loan of his compressor, I can get a lot of benchwork done alot quicker..

Now to start installing yard tracks..

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Run at the SP Cascade Sub...

Got to spend Saturday running at Jeff A's. Nothing to get you back into modeling than running on a great layout. Track is ME code 55 and 40 with hand built switches...

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